Pro-gay Chicago alderman claims Chick-fil-a has agreed to stop ‘anti-gay’ donations
CHICAGO, September 19, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Chicago alderman and homosexual activist who in July went public with his efforts to block Chick-fil-A from opening a franchise because its president, Dan Cathy, supports traditional marriage, is claiming to have gotten his wish.
Alderman Joe Moreno
According to a statement from Civil Right Agenda, a homosexual rights group, Moreno has confirmed that Chick-fil-A will no longer give money to “anti-gay organizations” through its charitable foundation, WinShape, and has agreed to clarify “in an internal document that the company will treat every person equally, regardless of sexual orientation.” Moreno says he will no longer oppose Chick-fil-a’s efforts to open a location in Logan Square.
However, it is unclear how much has really changed.
The statement of respect touted by The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA) as a new development was first issued back in July in response to the controversy over Cathy’s pro-marriage views, and has been on Chick-fil-a’s website since.
The Chicago Tribune also reports that the statement of respect “falls short of Moreno’s goal of adding language opposing discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to the company’s employee handbook,” and suggested that it is the alderman who has “reversed course.”
In response to requests for comment today, Chick-fil-a has refused to confirm or deny reports about changes in its funding practices, instead sending out a near identical version of the July statement, clarifying that the restaurant chain treats “every person with honor, dignity and respect — regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender.”
TCRA bases its claims about a change in who WinShape will donate to on a letter addressed to Alderman Moreno and signed by Chick-fil-A’s Senior Director of Real Estate. It reportedly states, “The WinShape Foundations is now taking a much closer look at the organizations it considers helping, and in that process will remain true to its stated philosophy of not supporting organizations with political agendas.”
TCRA’s press release claims, “In meetings the company executives clarified that they will no longer give to anti-gay organizations.”
But so far WinShape Foundation and pro-family organizations that have received funding from the foundation have refused comment on the story.
Interestingly, many news agencies reported that Civil Rights Agenda press release had originally mentioned Focus on the Family and the National Organization for Marriage as specific organizations that WinShape would no longer donate to.
That statement is no longer in the homosexual organization’s release. And it’s not hard to figure out why. Neither of these organizations received any funds from WinShape in 2010 – the last year for which figures are available. In fact, according to a statement from NOM today, NOM has never received funding from WinShape.
Some of the other pro-family organizations who received funds from WinShape in 2010, such as Exodus and Family Research Council, received only $1000. However, one group, the Marriage & Family Foundation, received nearly $1.2 million. Other Christian groups, such as the Fellowship Of Christian Athletes, that support traditional marriage as part of their overall efforts also received varying sums. It is unclear how the new policy will affect their funding.
The controversy over Chick-fil-a was sparked when company President Dan Cathy, told the Baptist press earlier this summer that he was “guilty as charged,” concerning his company’s support for the traditional family.
“We are very much supportive of the family—the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that,” said Cathy, whose father started the business in 1946.
NOM President Brian Brown told LifeSiteNews today that the egregious part of this story is that an alderman would tell a company what they can or can’t believe if they are to be granted access to the marketplace. “Dan Cathy has not changed his position on marriage,” he said, adding that he is still urging pro-marriage Americans to support the restaurant chain.
